The Phoenix
by The Dark Knight's Princess
Summary: Sometimes you have to die a little inside in order to be reborn; and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you. No matter how many times you burst into flames, you can always rise from the ashes. As the legend goes, when the Phoenix resurrects from the flames, she is even more beautiful than before. Alternate Universe A/C.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters**

Casey Novak sits with her shoulders hunched as she stares at herself in the mirror. She looks at herself through red rimmed eyes, her fingers flexing and tensing repeatedly against the tape surrounding them. Focusing her mind on her breathing, she inhales and exhales audibly; two counts in, four counts out, three counts in, six counts out, four counts in, eight counts out. It's like clockwork for her, a type of clockwork that's been drilled into her routine to where she feels like she can't focus without it.

A light, yet bitter chuckle escapes her lips as she catches her own reflection in the mirror once again. If she being completely honest with herself, she looks like complete shit and in the back of her mind she knows that she's not the only one who realizes it. She hadn't rested well the night before. In fact, she was more preoccupied with…extracurricular activities, activities that would have her manager crawling up her ass in a slick heartbeat.

Her satin scarlet robe sits draped over her shoulders with the hood draped over her head. She looks down at her taped hands once more and begins flexing them but this time it's more out of nervous habit as she fights the urge to make a dive for the cigarettes stashed in her workout bag or the brown paper bag stashed under all her clothes. Any thoughts of her coveted items are abandoned as the door swings open jarring her from her silent internal battle.

"Ah Novak! What're ya doin?" The loud voice of her manager/best friend Abbie Carmichael rings through the small room. "You look like you've been kicked in the gut and the fight hasn't even started. I would've thought you'd be more pumped than this. What's getting at you?"

Shaking her head at first, Casey can't help but roll her eyes a few seconds later when she is greeted by a sound of disapproval which stated that Abbie wasn't happy with her nonverbal response. "Nothing." She responds tightly, though her voice has no mirth or excitement to it. "Just thinking."

"Well I need you to do more than think! I need you to prepare, I need to you to be in the zone!" Abbie exclaims as she crosses the room and places her hands on the other woman's shoulders. She is silent for a moment before a small sigh escapes her lips. She's noticed that for the past month and a half, Casey has been like this practically before every fight. What was once the woman who was a magnificent sphere of energy before stepping into the cage now just sat and had a staring match with herself in the mirror and she can't help but wonder when it all started to change.

Quirking an eyebrow at her reflection, the redhead lets out an apprehensive sigh. She briefly glances down at her hands, clenching them tightly and watching the veins protrude for a quick moment. A few seconds, or minutes pass before she looks up once again, green eyes staring back at her. The eyes are hard and focused yet somehow passionate. This is part of her routine. This is what she does.

She steps back from the mirror and stretches her arms above her head, stretching out her muscles and simultaneously popping her fingers. Shaking out her hands, she begins to roll her shoulders and her neck as she continuous to loosen her muscles. A knock on the door rouses her from her internal monologue preps.

"How you feeling baby? You ready to rock this thing?" Abbie's enthusiastic voice breaks her from her stupor as she massages Casey's shoulders.

Arching an eyebrow, the Casey steps away and eyes the other women with a fair amount of amusement and a small hint of annoyance. She shakes her head and continues her stretching without so much as a glance or a response. Maybe if she ignores her, she'll go away.

Unfortunately, this doesn't have the desired effect.

"Seriously, Case? I've gotten us this far. I can't even have just a little bit of excitement from you once?"

At this the Casey makes a noise that is a cross between a scoff and a snort. "I'm still not sure whether it's you or me that has gotten us this far." She responds, a well-knowing smirk tugging at her lips. Said smirk fades quickly when she is rewarded with a silent response. "Relax Moneybags, it was a joke." She grumbles half-heartedly.

"Cool it with the nickname. If that were the case, I would be getting paid for being your manager _and_ your trainer." Abbie huffs as she crosses her arms tightly over her chest. Seeing that the other woman is blatantly ignoring her now, she sighs heavily. She glances around the dressing room trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. It's not that she's looking for anything, per say, but…okay well yeah, she's looking for something.

"Something I can help you with?"

The voice snaps Abbie out of her analysis and a sheepish grin appears on her face. "Just, you know, checking out the place. Gotta make sure that they're giving you the best, you know?"

"Or you're looking for something that's not supposed to be here." Is the clipped response. Stopping her stretches, Casey Novak clenches her jaw tightly, scoffing when the sheepish look on her comrade's face gives her the answer she's looking for.

"Look, I'm just trying to check on you, alright? Just trying to make sure you're okay." Abbie huffs with a shrug. "It's part of my job as your manager, your trainer, and your best friend."

The two stare each other down for a long time before Casey looks away first and goes back to rolling her shoulders. "I haven't done anything…" she mumbles so quietly that Abbie almost misses it.

"Good. Good. That's good." Abbie sighs in relief. It isn't that she doesn't trust Casey. That's far from the truth. She just can't help that she worries about Casey more often than she feels like she should. Glancing down at her watch, Abbie gives the taller woman a clap on the shoulder.

"C'mon, we should get moving. Wouldn't want to keep the people waiting."

* * *

Alex Cabot bristles as she makes her way through the rather busy office area. She isn't surprised that people are running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. It's usually this way when they are mere hours before an important deadline.

She side steps an intern who is rushing about with a stack of papers so high that Alex is surprised that he can even see where he's going. Shaking her head and sparing a small chuckle, she remembers when that used to be her.

Alex had gone to college and majored in journalism and marketing, much to her parent's disappointment. The two had wanted her to follow in their footsteps in majoring in either business or political science before going on to becoming a major business mogul or a senator. But that hadn't been her dream.

Alex's dream was to become head editor for a major magazine. Sure, to some people it seems like a small aspiration, but for Alex, it was her goal in life. Journalism was her passion and if she were going to spend the rest of her life working then she sure as hell wanted to be doing a job that she loved.

Upon graduating college, she had gotten a paid internship at _In Depth_ magazine where she had quickly gone from an intern to getting an offer for a position as a writer. Alex couldn't have more ecstatic as she saw this as a step in the right direction for her goal.

Currently, she finds herself nearly running through the office (or running as much as she can in high heels), in order to make it to the meeting she has scheduled with her boss. The meeting that Alex coincidentally forgot about until last minute.

Pausing outside the door, Alex takes the time to catch her breath before knocking. Upon hearing the terse 'come in' she steps into the office and plasters a wide small across her lips. Unfortunately for her, the other woman does not seem impressed.

"I sure hope you have a good reason for being," Elizabeth Donnelly pauses to catch a glimpse at her watch "Fifteen minutes late to our meeting. Surely the traffic in the hallways weren't that bad to where they could've kept you from being here on time."

"Well you know me. I got caught up with the piece I was working on and I just…" Alex trails off with an awkward laugh.

At this, Liz raises her eyebrows in interest. "Oh? I wasn't aware you were working on something new."

"Well I mean it's not…new…actually I shouldn't even call it a piece. It's just…it's nothing." The younger blonde rambles before dropping into one of Liz's guest chairs. "So…you wanted to speak with me?"

"I did actually. It works out since you're not working on your 'nothing', at the moment." Liz starts with smirk. For being in charge of _In Depth_ magazine, Liz does harbor a soft spot for some of her employees; Alex being one of them. She sees a lot of potential in the young blonde, and knowing that her parents don't support her dream, Liz can't help but see a little bit of herself in Alex. However, it is because she cares so much that she tends to push Alex a lot harder than any of her other writers. "I have an opportunity of a feature for you."

Alex's eyes widen at the mention of a feature piece. Features tend to get the most recognition in their issues and she is over the moon excited for the potential opportunity of writing one. "Oh my gosh, are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Liz responds with a chuckle at the young woman's excitement. "Jill had to take off for a family emergency and there's no possible way for her to get the story in by her deadline. She needs someone to take over for her, and I couldn't think of anyone better for the job."

Alex's smile falters a bit at hearing the details. "Um, wasn't Jill working on a sports feature?" she questions, her eyes widening when is given a slight nod in response. "Liz! I-I don't know anything about sports. I mean, there's a reason Jill is one of your sports writers, right? I'll need to find a subject and a photographer and…"

"You have plenty of time before the deadline. I'm sure that you will come up with something good." Liz offers with a small smile. "Every great writer must be able to adjust to their publication Alex. You can't just be comfortable writing on one specific thing. If you are to be an editor one day, you have to fit in everywhere."

"You really want me to do this don't you." Alex offers with a sigh.

"I couldn't think of anyone one better." Liz repeats again with a smirk as she leans back in her chair. "Who knows. If you can pull this off, then perhaps there is potential for an assistant editor position in your future."

At this, Alex's eyes widen once again. A promotion. If she can nail this feature story, then she'll be considered for a promotion. All she has to do is produce a kick ass story in which she has no knowledge or expertise, should be easy right?

"I won't let you down Liz. Thanks so much for this opportunity." Alex beams, making her way around the desk to give the older woman a hug. She has always seen Liz as a motherly figure as opposed to her own mother who wants nothing to do with her. "Now I just need to find a subject."

"Then I suppose you should get moving." Liz offers, giving Alex a nudge. "I expect nothing less than perfection."

"You got it." Alex responds with a thumbs up before exiting the office. Outside, she gives a small yip in excitement before making her way to the break room to share her good news.

Upon entering the break room, she is not surprised to find her core group of friends already surrounding their usual table. The only exception is that Olivia and Amanda seem to be very engrossed with something on the television.

"So…I just got the most exciting new!" Alex exclaims, speaking mostly to Serena and Kim. "Liz just handed off Jill's feature to me and she says that if I can do a solid job on it that I'll be considered for assistant editor!"

"YEAH!" Liv and Amanda exclaims simultaneously, startling the other women.

Rolling her eyes as the other two, Serena beams at her best friend. "That's incredible Al! This is what you've always wanted right?"

"Yeah, congratulations." Kim offers with a soft smile. "What was Jill's feature on again?"

"It's supposed to be a sports feature. That's my speedbump right now because honestly, I haven't ever written anything for sports before."

"Well I'm sure that Olivia will be more than happy to help you." Serena speaks in the direction of her fiancée who is one of the regular sports writers.

"YES!" Liv exclaims once again, however, she and Amanda are still mainly focused on the TV.

Kim rolls her eyes and is the first to speak up, drawing the other two women away from whatever they're watching. "Honestly, you two? Alex has exciting news and you can't look away from the TV for five seconds to congratulate her."

Both women actually have the grace to look embarrassed as they murmur apologies to the amused blonde.

"It's fine. What are you two watching anyway?" Alex asks, narrowing her eyes at the television. She takes in the two women on the screen, but she is mostly focused on the woman with her crimson hair done into a tight braid. Her eyes examine the woman's sports bra and compression short clad body, admiring the tone and definition. She notices the tattoos on the woman's arms but she's mostly entranced by the fierce bird that decorates the woman's side. All in all, this woman is sexy and Alex doesn't realize she's staring so intently at the television until she feels a slight pinch.

"Ow. Sorry." She mumbles, swallowing thickly. "What're you watching?"

"The fight from last night." Amanda exclaims, still beaming at the TV.

"Yeah, I missed it because _someone_ wanted to go out to dinner." Olivia teases, glancing in Serena's direction, grinning when the blonde sticks out her tongue.

Alex continues to watch as what appears to be a referee step in between the two women. She watches the redhaired woman retreat to a corner of the cage where a dark haired woman is waiting on the other side. The other woman appears to be yelling and pointing to the other end of the cage. The redhead simply nods and pulls her mouth guard from her mouth, working her jaw for a moment before replacing it. She nods once more, knocks fists with the brunette through the cage and returns to where the ref is waiting.

She rolls her shoulders and nods at the ref before he signals the restart of the match. She resumes her fighting position before her opponent charges forward. All it takes are two solid punches from the redhead before the other woman is floored.

Alex actually winces upon seeing the two rapid punches. The ref checks on the downed woman who has yet to move before he signals the end of the match. He holds up the redhead's arm, drawing cheers from Liv, Amanda, and a few others in the breakroom.

"Who _is_ that?" Alex whispers, not realizing that she has spoken out loud until she gets a response.

"The Phoenix!" Amanda exclaims, still buzzing from the match.

"Phoenix?" Alex mumbles, thinking back to the woman's tattoos.

"Casey Novak." Liv chimes in, now fully directing her attention to the other women now that the fight is over. "She the top MMA fighter in the world. The best for both men and women if you ask me. Hell, I've seen her knock out a few dudes before."

Alex thinks for a moment crossing her arms. "Liv, you've done sports pieces. How hard is it to get into contact with a subject?"

Liv shrugs. "It depends on the subject. I mean, we'd have to contact managers and agents and draw up contracts and such. Some people are just easier to reach out to than others. Why?"

"Because I think I might've found my subject." She responds in a wistful voice. "Looks like I need to make a few phone calls."

 **A/N: *pokes head out of bunker* hey guys…remember me? It's…well, it has been a while hasn't it? Life has…wow life has been a total kick in the face. But here I am! Hopefully you guys are still around. I miss all of you guys.**

 **Sadly the last thing I posted isn't going anywhere because of personal reasons, but, this is something I've been playing with for quite some time now. I want to do some character exploring her, so Casey is going to be a little OOC in this one. I do have a second chapter to this already written so let me know if you want to see anymore. I'll post it as soon as I get some feedback on this. And being five months pregnant does give me a little bit of down time so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things.**

 **Leave your thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: wow I never realized how much I really miss seeing review notifications. I love you guys. Here's chapter 2!**

"No."

"What do you mean no? You haven't even let me go into detail yet!"

"I don't need to." Casey huffs as she pours herself a hearty glass of whiskey. She notices the other woman eyeing her intently before she rolls her eyes. "I'm over 21 Abigail. I'm allowed to have a drink."

"Not when it's not even two in the afternoon…" Abbie grumbles. "Listen, I just think that this could be good for you. It could help you with your…you know. Public image."

At this Casey quirks an eyebrow. "My 'public image'?! And pray tell Abbie, what the hell is wrong with my public image?"

Backpedaling, Abbie realizes that she must have phrased that wrong. "Okay maybe not your public image. But it might make you more…likeable? Don't get me wrong people love you. But people love you in the cage, baby. We need to work on getting them to love you outside of The Octagon. Especially after last year…"

Casey bristles and refills her glass before taking another swig. "That wasn't something that was my fault Abs, you know that. I just showed some guys why you don't pick a fight with a random chick in a bar." Especially when said random chick in a bar happens to be the best MMA fighter in the world.

 _'That's not what I was talking about…'_ "And I still never got a thank you for talking you out of that. Look, I just think this would be really good for you. It'll get you out there as more of a people person. You know, share a little bit of yourself with your fans. Besides, it's not like this is _People_ or anything. How many people actually read this magazine?"

"You do. You have a monthly subscription." Casey deadpans. "It's the second largest publication BEHIND _People_ …"

"Good so you've done your research!" Abbie grins before she whines. "Come on Case, seriously. I think you should at least give it a little more thought before you just turn down the idea completely. Think of it as a way to…express yourself in a way you've never been able to before."

"Sitting down and having some sleazy reporter pry into my life is supposed to have some kind of appeal to me?" she redhead retorts as she puts down her glass. "Abbie, you don't seem to understand that I don't care if people hate me."

Abbie springs up from her spot on the couch and begins to pace. "That! That right there is what I want to change. Casey I'm going to tell you something, you're going to listen, and you're going to listen good, you understand me? You are one of the best athletes in the world. When people think of the all-time greats, they think of you, and you're not even 30 yet! Do you know what kind of achievement that is?"

Seeing that the redhead is doing everything she can not to look at her, Abbie huffs and moves back to the sofa to retrieve her iPad. Making a few taps on the screen, she shoves the device into her friend's face, a playlist of videos at the ready. "July 6, 2008. Debut match. Knockout in under sixty seconds."

"Abs…"

"March 8, 2010, knockout after one round."

"Abbie, seriously…"

"Or most recently. June 19, 2015. The day you broke the world of MMA fighting. The day you, Casey Novak, knocked out Ronda Rousey, pulling off one of the biggest, most shocking upsets in history."

"C'mon dude…." Casey mumbles, shoving the iPad displaying her career highlights out of her face.

Putting down her iPad, Abbie forces Casey to look at her. "You think your main goal in life is to get people to like you? No. Your main goal in life is to go out there and win and show the world why you are one of the most badass women on this planet. Your main goal is to go out there and show little girls, you know what? Yes, you are a girl, but that doesn't mean shit, because you can take down a grown man twice or three times your size. You are role model to all those young kids out there who have been told that they couldn't do it. Because you know what, people did tell you that you couldn't do it. You were told that you should just go home, hang up the gloves, because what place does a woman have in _this_ world? The world of sports? But you know what you said? You said fuck it and you continue to do what you do because you love it." Abbie's voice drops into a sharp whisper as she jabs a finder into the redhead's chest. "You are Casey fucking Novak. You are The fucking _Phoenix_. Like one of your tats says; 'It is from ashes you rise. It is from ashes that you are reborn'. People have posters of you in their homes, they wear t-shirts with your face, and do you know how many phoenix tattoos I've seen since you've made your debut. You mean so much to your fans, so this self-loathing, self-doubting, chip-on-your-shoulder bullshit needs to stop."

Casey is used to seeing Abbie yell and scream at her from the other side of the cage, or even afterwards after she's had a bad fight. But there are those rare occasions when Abbie doesn't yell, but she speaks with so much passion that almost makes Casey think that they're both in the wrong line of work.

Biting her lip, Casey also know that Abbie has a point, and she knows that Abbie isn't just speaking as her manager, but she's speaking as her best friend. There hasn't been a time in her life where she felt like Abbie didn't know what was best for her. Hell, she feels like it's because of Abbie that she's gotten to where she has, and she couldn't be more thankful. And maybe she does need to show a little more appreciation to her fans.

"You're right...you're right." She nods, repeating the phrase more to convince herself. "I suppose that it couldn't be a bad thing. I mean…I guess there is a lot that people don't know about me."

"And you don't have to share anything you don't want to. And I'll make sure they run everything by me first."

Nodding, Casey takes a deep breath. "Alright, I'll do it. You can call the reporter or whatever."

"Great! Great. I'm telling you Case, you won't regret this." Abbie beams, giving the fighter a side hug. "I'll give them a call, and I'll meet you down in the gym in fifteen? I know you just had a fight three days ago, but you look like you could punch something. As long as you keep your punches away from the money maker here."

"So, I'll be sure to aim for your face." Casey smirks before heading down the gym within her home. This interview couldn't be so bad, right?

* * *

Sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, Alex checks her phone for what feels like the fiftieth time, even though she isn't exactly expecting a call. Her meeting isn't supposed to be until one o'clock, but being who she is, she arrived nearly an hour early.

She isn't sure why she's so nervous. She's not exactly a sports fanatic, and she didn't really know who her subject was until five days prior. Everyone at the office, however, seemed to know, and she found herself almost having to go into her wallet in order to ensure that Liv or Amanda wouldn't show up and fangirl all over her meeting.

Alex isn't going to deny that she did quite a bit of research on this Casey Novak. After all, she didn't want to seem completely unprofessional by not knowing a single thing about her subject. However, that doesn't mean that Alex isn't interested. There's something about the other woman that she finds…intriguing. Like she has a story that is just begging to be told. And if she's honest, Alex most definitely finds the fighter very attractive.

Checking her phone once again for no reason at all, Alex looks up towards the entrance of the shop just in time to see a familiar looking redhead step through the door. She's clad in dark Ray Bans, a black leather jacket over a red t-shirt, complete with dark skinnies and combat boots. Her crimson hair is pulled into a tame ponytail that falls over her shoulder as she scans the coffee shop.

"Holy shit, she's gorgeous." Alex murmurs to herself, sitting up straighter to present herself and avoid having to do an obvious and awkward wave. Even behind the dark sunglasses, she can feel Casey's gaze boring into her as she makes her way towards the corner table.

As the fighter approaches the table, Alex takes the time to admire her physical frame. She notes that Casey is definitely much taller in person than she had thought and even from underneath the leather jacket, Alex can tell that she is well toned.

"Well I sure hope you're Alex, otherwise, these could be very awkward." Well that definitely isn't the voice Alex had expected to hear. Actually, she isn't sure what she was expecting.

"I…um, Alex. Yeah. I mean yes!" the blonde takes a moment to compose herself and stick her hand across the table. "Yes, I'm Alex. It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you."

"Likewise." The redhead smiles, taking a moment to glance around before pushing her shades up to the top of her head. Before Alex speaks, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a twenty. "Listen, I hate to sound like a pretentious idiot, but I'm in dire need of some caffeine. Would you like anything?"

"A regular iced coffee with an extra shot of espresso would be fine." Alex murmurs, watching as the redhead nods before she replaces her shades and heads to the register. She waits patiently, continuing to mentally examine the woman before she returns to the table with both of their drinks. "Thanks."

"No problem." Casey responds with a small smile as she takes a sip from her coffee.

"Michelle?" Alex wonders aloud as she notices the name scrawled across the cup.

Casey raises her eyebrows and spins her cup around before she chuckles. "Oh…it's my middle name. I usually order under a different name. Apparently if you're named Casey and you've got red hair, it doesn't take much for people to figure out who you are. Hence the jacket in California in the middle of the summer. You'd be surprised how many people have recognized me from my tattoos."

Alex doesn't know what she had been expecting, but once again finds herself surprised that Casey is rather easy going, albeit a bit reserved in her speech. She hadn't expected someone who literally hits people for a living to be so soft spoken. "Wow that…that must get annoying."

"It can." Casey responds with a shrug before leaning back in her chair. "But I can tell you more about it during your interview."

"Interview. Right." Alex mumbles before clearing her throat. "Um, really I just wanted us to meet beforehand so the interview wouldn't be completely out of left field. I sent an email with all of my current questions for your manager to look over, but as we start the interview process, those can be subject to change. If that's alright with you of course…"

Casey simply offers a nonchalant shrug in response, despite the fact that there is a small part of her that still doesn't want to do this. "I'm just here for the ride."

"Right…um, so, I'd like to get started as soon as possible if that's fine. While the story will be a feature article in the magazine, our publication does have a very popular website, so a large portion of the story with be through video. We've found that we get more responses with video features and it makes the story a bit more interactive."

"So you want people to be able to watch this too? Wow, you're really going for the whole nine yards here aren't you?"

"I just want to put together a story that'll interest the people. That's all." Alex shrugs. "And I really feel like you have a story to tell. I feel like there's a lot about you that the people don't know.

Casey snorts, but this time it is mirthless as she shakes her head and slips her sunglasses back over her eyes.

 _"You have no idea."_

 **So for this, I did want to make Casey a little older than Alex, so keep that in mind. But it's an AU, I can do what I want.**

 **Leave your thoughts?**


	3. Chapter 3

"So you weren't completely fangirling the entire time?"

Alex rolls her eyes for what feels like the hundredth time. "How many times are you going to ask me that? I already told you. I didn't exactly know who she was, save for the reading that I did beforehand."

Serena pouts briefly before tilting her head. "So if you didn't know much about her, why'd you pick her to do your story on."

"Do you know how many professional athletes I'm actually in contact with?" Alex asks rhetorically. "Besides…there's something about her…I can't quite place what it is. She's so…intriguing."

"And hot."

"Serena! You're engaged remember?"

"And? It's not like I'm blind to a beautiful woman. Especially one who's good with her hands." The photographer concludes with a giggle. "Besides, I'm sure that Olivia would agree with me. You know how bummed she and Amanda were when you told them that they weren't allowed to meet her."

Alex can't help but smile at this. It was true. She had banded the two sports fanatics from coming into any sort of contact with the subject of her piece. The very last thing she needs of for word to get out that their magazine is run by a bunch of professional who turn into blundering fans at the mere sight of a celebrity.

"And you know very well that bringing them was completely out of the question. After meeting the two of them, Casey most definitely wouldn't want to do the piece."

"Casey, huh? We're already on a first name basis?" Serena teases.

Alex rolls her eyes, and pulls up the long driveway to the address that she was given. To say she's a little nervous is a bit of an understatement, but she's going to do everything within her power to make sure that it doesn't show.

Stopping her quaint little convertible at the end of the drive, Alex takes the time to admire the house. The large wall length windows allow for natural lighting but the distance from the main roads make up for the potential lack of privacy. Stepping out of the car, she grabs her bags, rolling her eyes when she finds Serena all but gawking at the house.

"Holy shit…how much did you say she made again?" the shorter blonde whispers after picking her jaw up from the ground.

"I couldn't have possibly calculated all of her endorsements and extra stuff, but anywhere between three quarters of a million to a million per fight." Alex huffs as she drops the equipment at her photographer's feet before continuing towards the front door. "And she fights a lot."

"I'll say." Serena whistles as she joins Alex at the door where the writer is ringing the doorbell. She scopes out the area, before nudging her friend and pointing down the hill at the other homes." Hey, hey. How many of those houses do you think belong to celebrities? Do you think Ellen or someone lives up here?"

Rolling her eyes, Alex sigh as she realizes that maybe perhaps she should've brought Kim with her. She knows for a fact that she could've counted on the stoic brunette to behave in a professional manner. The only thing she's thankful for at this moment is the fact that Serena apparently shows no interest in sports, let alone MMA fighting. Otherwise, this would be a very difficult interview.

The two wait at the front door for a few minutes before Alex begins checking her watch. "I mean, she knows we're coming. This is the time that we agreed would work best for her so we could at least get something started," she huffs before ringing the bell once again, this time with more urgency only to find her hand smacked. "Ouch! What?!"

"She's a celebrity. You can't rush that." Serena hisses, gesturing wildly towards the doorbell.

"Oh god not you too…"

"What? I'm just saying. You sometimes just gotta let them move at their own pace, ya know?"

"Right…" Alex supplies with a hard eye roll.

Another five minutes pass and finally movement can be heard from inside the house. The two journalists listen from the outside as a series of thumps and muffled curses can be heard from inside the house. It's only a few seconds before a silhouette appears on the other side of the frosted glass and the door swings open.

"Hey! I'm uh, I'm so sorry."

Alex finds that her mouth has gone completely dry as she takes in the sight before her. Her eyes rake over the athletic woman before her, glad in a black sports bra underneath a white button down that is completely open. She swallows thickly as she observes the toned ab muscles but mostly she is drawn to the glimpse of the fierce tattoo beneath the shirt. Breaking from her trance, she glances to her left and notices that her companion is in a similar state of shock.

"No, I-no. It's…we're early." Alex mutters stupidly, even though she was secretly cursing the fact that they were late not thirty seconds ago.

"Right, uh, you guys can come in. Just give me a sec." Casey says, stepping away from the door, leaving it open for the two journalists to enter her home.

Stepping inside, Alex manages to recover from her stupor, however, she still cannot say the same for Serena. Sighing quietly, she snaps her fingers in front of the photographers face before dragging her inside.

"Alex…who was _that_." Serena whispers as if asking for national secrets.

" _That_ was Casey." Alex responds with a chuckle before bringing Serena's hand up to where it is in front of her face. "And _this_ is your engagement ring."

"Engagement ring. Right." Serena rolls her eyes with a smirk. "Like I said, I love Liv with all my heart, but that doesn't mean I can't look. And holy hell do I want to look!"

"Stop it!" Alex hisses, smacking Serena's side when she hears fast footsteps. Letting her nosiness get the better of her, she follows the noises through the house and out towards the back patio where she spots Casey ushering a tall, thin blonde out the back door.

"But you promised-"

"I know what I promised and I'm sorry but you really have to go."

"So that's it? You're just going to throw me out? Just like that?" the blonde scoffs audibly. "I should've listened to my friends and not left that club with you."

"Well we all make mistakes right?"

Alex physically winces as she is sure that the slap that the woman delivers to Casey's face can be heard around the world. She takes this as her opportunity to quickly make her way back to Serena who appears to have busied herself with checking the settings and lenses on her camera.

Minutes later, Casey reappears in the room, this time with her hand holding her cheek. Even from their distance apart, Alex can see the wince on the redhead's face as she attempts to smile.

"Sorry about that. I just had to um…listen, I'm just gonna go upstairs and change. I'll be down in a sec."

"Great, no…no rush." Alex responds with a gentle smile before watching Casey practically bolt up the stairs. Even from her behavior and demeanor, she can tell that these sort of things aren't exactly the athlete's forte. She was able to figure out quite early on that Casey agreeing to do this in the first place probably had everything to do with the persuasion of her manager.

Meanwhile upstairs, Casey paces her bedroom with her fingers tightly threaded into her hair. She glances over at the mess of blankets sheets and pillows that is supposed to be her bed. Huffing, she storms over to her huge walk-in closet and begins contemplating what to put on.

"Maybe I should start paying Abbie to be my stylist too…" she chuckles, realizing that the brunette more often than not picks out her outfits outside of The Octagon. She didn't realize how difficult to find something to wear until now.

She eventually settles on a red flannel and ripped black skinnies with her favorite converse. A few seconds later she finds herself glaring at herself in her mirror as she roughly drags a brush through her hair. Slowly placing the brush onto the sink counter, Casey continues to scowl at her reflection. She can feel her heart thumping loudly in her ears like a repetitive drumline.

Gripping the counter, Casey clenches her jaw and tries to focus on her ragged breathing, which seems to not be working in her favor. Gritting her teeth, she quickly moves to one of the many cabinets in her bathroom, wanting to do anything to make it stop. Taking a deep breath, she closes the cabinet, rolls her shoulders, and heads towards the direction of the stairs.

Alex breaks her concerned gaze away from the stairs when she faintly hears her best friend speaking to her. "I'm sorry, what'd you say?"

"Wow. She's really got your attention span in knots huh?" Serena giggles before turning serious. "I wanted you to give me a run through on what we're doing today. You know, so I know what lenses to switch too and such, if I even need to switch at all."

"Oh right. For today schedule we're just going to do a walkthrough of the house while asking some simple questions." Alex explains as she shuffles through her schedule.

"Great! Because I didn't want to awkwardly ask if I could have a tour. I'm dying to see the rest of this place." Serena beams.

Alex hums in agreement as she also looks around. "Yeah, but it still seems like something's missing. I don't know. Yeah, it's a beautiful house, but it's just that. It's a house. Not a home. It's…expensive."

"It is expensive. And I'm hardly ever here. What with matches, endorsement events, fundraisers." A new voice says, startling the other two women. Casey smirks a little as she descends the stairs, taking note at the deep blush on Alex's face.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't implying anything I just…" Alex swallows before directing her attention elsewhere. "Um, this is my photographer Serena. She's going to be doing most of the video and images for the piece."

"It's nice to meet you." Casey smiles charmingly as she sticks her hand out. She quirks an eyebrow when the shorter woman simply squeaks and raises her hand in an awkward wave.

Rolling her eyes, Alex nudges her best friend once again for the hundredth time this afternoon.

"Right. Sorry. I'm Serena. It's a real pleasure to meet you. My fiancée is a really big fan."

"Awesome. Maybe I'll sign something for her, so long as you don't take any unflattering shots of me." Casey concludes with a wink before turning her attention to Alex. "I know you want to get started as soon as possible, but my manager is on her way over, and she insisted that I not do anything without her. I hope you don't mind?"

"No not at all. That's fine. I've only spoken to her through emails, so I think it would be appropriate that I put a name to a face."

"Yeah well, you might not be saying that after you meet her. She can be a little…out there." Casey concludes with a smirk as she continues to study the blonde. She can't deny that she finds her attractive and even from their first meeting in the coffee shop, she is sure that Alex must be thinking the same. After all…no. This is professional. Nothing more. Clearing her throat, she feels that it's necessary she breaks the awkward silence that they've lapsed into.

"Um, do you guys want anything. A drink or something?"

Serena opens her mouth to respond, but scowls when she finds herself cut off by Alex. "No, we're good thanks." Alex answers for the both of them with a good-natured smile.

Casey nods and swiftly heads into the kitchen where she pours herself a drink. She swirls the amber liquid around the glass for a brief moment, staring into intently before she takes a sip. The liquid burns on the way down, and she places it back on the counter.

"What the hell did I tell you about drinking in the middle of the damn day."

"Fucking hell." Casey gasps, having been scared half to death. She finishes her drink out of spite before quickly rounding on the other woman. "Can you at least make some kind of noise before you speak? You know, to let me know you're here or some shit?!"

Abbie shrugs before fixing the woman with a hard stare. She steps forward, invading Casey's personal space before raising her fingers to the side of her neck. Her frown deepens when she feels the redhead's pulse raising. "What the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Casey hisses, slapping Abbie's hand away from her.

"Bullshit. What did you do?" Abbie asks again, holding the other woman's stare. Yes, she knows that if she wanted to, Casey could drop her in under ten seconds, but she's known Casey long enough to know that she would know better.

"The magazine is here." Casey breathes, breaking the gaze. "The reporters are in the living room."

"You sure you're up for this today? Because the very last thing I need for you to do is embarrass yourself." Abbie states flatly, taking note of the green eyes looking anywhere but at her.

Biting her lip, Casey shakes her head as she thinks of Alex. She knows the writer must be on some sort of deadline and she would hate for herself to be the reason that any of that is screwed up.

"No. I've delayed their time enough as it is."

"Well if you're going to do this, I need you to get your shit together."

Nodding, Casey finally meets Abbie's intense gaze, flinching when she sees fear, concern, anger, and frustration all mixed into one giant emotion. She knows that Abbie isn't the most expressive person when it comes to feeling, and she hates that she's the one to draw that out of her.

"Great." Abbie forces a smile as she throws an arm around Casey's shoulders. She files away a mental note to go through the entire house the next time Casey is out or at some event that also doesn't require her present. As much as she hates to admit it, she knows the redhead is hiding something from her. But for right now, she needs to make sure that this interview runs like a well-oiled machine. After all, that's what she's paid to do, but it's also required of her as a best friend. She puts on her business smile as she begins to steer the athlete out of the kitchen.

"Now let's get out there and make sure that neither of us are out of a job after this is over."

 **Hmm…leave your thoughts?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So yeah…chapter 4 got kinda carried away in length. But I'm sure you all won't mind…maybe.**

Casey forces herself to smile as they reenter the living room even as she feels Abbie's grip tighten on her shoulder.

"Ladies, this is my manager, Abbie Carmichael. Abbie, the lovely ladies who wanna write a story about me," the athlete offers with a rather goofy smile

Rolling her eyes, Abbie smiles no less. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Especially you." She smiles charmingly at Serena who she offers her hand first. "Abigail."

"Engaged." Serena retorts with an eyeroll as she crosses her arms. A small smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth when she sees the brunette deflate while Casey coughs to despise a snicker and Alex does nothing to hide her obvious giggling.

"Um…right. Well like I said. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you. I'm just here to make sure that things run smoothly and to answer and questions you may have."

"Perfect." Alex speaks up with a smile as she checks her schedule one last time. "Like I told Casey earlier, today we're mainly just here for a brief walkthrough of the house to serve as a backdrop to the story. It won't be happening today, but I would like to sit down with you as well. Maybe get something that I can use in a voiceover? That is, if you don't mind."

"She doesn't." Casey speaks up, stepping in front of Abbie as she offers the blonde a soft smile.

Alex in slightly stunned by the redhead's sudden forwardness, but she can't help that a shy smile graces her lips. "Awesome. We'd really love to see your home."

The tour and interview process goes off without a hitch and Alex finds herself completely impressed by some of the rooms that she's seen. She swears that the gym that's located underground has a larger square footing than her entire apartment.

"Wow. This is incredible." Alex whispers, completely flabbergasted by the view. The way that the infinity pool merges with the horizon of the ocean is completely awe inspiring and she finds herself suddenly wishing that she went into a different line of work so she could afford a view like this.

"Yeah, it really is a great view." Casey murmurs, though her eyes are lingering on the writer rather than the vast expanse of land that she's use to seeing.

Alex turns and is slightly surprised to find Casey already looking at her. Swallowing thickly, she curses herself as she feels the tips of her ears begin to warm.

"Should I be worried that I left your obviously interested manager with my very engaged best friend while she's packing up equipment?" she chuckles awkwardly, saying anything to defuse the tension she was beginning to feel.

It takes Casey a moment to catch up, but when she does, she throws her head back in a laugh. The first time, Alex is sure, that she has legitimately laughed since they've met.

"No, you shouldn't be worried. Abbie might come off as a little strong when you first meet her, but I can promise you she's harmless. Especially since your friend is engaged. She'll respect that."

"Speaking of Serena, I really wanted to apologize for her earlier when we first arrived. I promise that we aren't new to this, but it's always the initial meeting that—"

Holding her hand up, Casey begins chuckling again. "Hey, hey. It's okay. Everyone gets a little star struck every now and then. I remember the first time I met Beyoncé I forgot my own name. Just imagine how that introduction went."

"You…you've met…" Alex trails off, her eyebrows now raised so high that they have gotten lost in her hairline. She immediately blushes when she sees that the fighter is eyeing her with a fair amount of amusement. "Sorry. I just…wow that's incredible."

"I'll say. I mean, it's my name. You would think I would be able to remember it."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"I know." Casey smiles softly. She hadn't really had much time to take in how beautiful Alex really is. The way that her eyes can turn from a steely grey to a vibrant blue when her mood changes from one of frustration to a childlike giddiness.

Catching the redhead staring at her once more, Alex ducks her head and awkwardly clears her throat. "Um, I really want to say thank you again. I feel like we've been working on such short notice but I'm really excited to see where we're going with this. I'm also really excited…well, I'm really looking forward to learning more about you."

"And I'm looking forward to learning more about you." Casey murmurs softly. "Listen, why don't you come to my next fight? I mean, it'll help with your story, right? You can see what I do up close and firsthand. Well, maybe not _firsthand_ , but you get the idea."

"Really? Wow, that's…that'll be great."

"Awesome! I can text you the details, but it's next Friday so make sure you clear your busy schedule so you don't miss it. Tell your friends the same. I'm sure that Serena's fiancée would never forgive her if she went to one of my fights without her."

Alex playfully rolls her eyes knowing full well that the redhead is right. "I'll make sure to do that just for you. However, I've got to warn you, I don't know the first thing about MMA fighting."

"Well pro-tip number 1 and the only thing you'll ever need to know about it," Casey begins, holding up one finger as a devilish smirk tugs at her lips. "When the other girl hits the mat, it usually means that I've won."

After making sure to properly see of the two journalists, Casey shuts the front door and turns to find Abbie fixing her with an unreadable expression. She hates when she does that. She hates when she can't tell if Abbie is pissed, amused, annoyed, angry, or just plain teasing her. It's one of her best friend's least redeeming qualities, and Casey has informed her of this on several different occasions. By now, Casey's sure that she does it on purpose.

"Well you and that writer were out back for quite some time." Abbie states interestedly.

"Her name is Alex." Casey corrects, moving past the brunette and back into her kitchen. She needs food and she needs it now.

"I talk to nearly a hundred different people every single day. Forgive me if one name escapes me for the moment."

"Yeah well she introduced herself." Casey rolls her eyes as she places her palms on the counter. "And just what are you trying to imply Abbie. We were talking. That's all."

"I didn't say you weren't. I was just curious. For someone who didn't really want to do this to begin with, you've seem to really had a good time with it."

"And what, that's not allowed? I'm not allowed to enjoy myself? Weren't you the one who just told me that you're tired of my 'chip-on-my-shoulder' bullshit?"

"You're taking what I said completely out of context. I was just saying that I still don't think you have your head on straight."

Casey rolls her eyes and squeezes her hands into fists, her usual of habit of restraining herself when she really wants to hit something or rather, _someone_.

"I don't know what you want from me Abbie. I honestly don't know."

At this, Abbie laughs mirthlessly as she crosses her arms tightly. "What I want is for you to start being honest with me. I know you're hiding something and if it has anything to do with last year—"

"Last year—" Casey's anger flares and she even surprises herself with how much she's just raised her voice.

"If it has anything to do with last year then I think that I need to know about it!" Abbie shouts over the redhead. She holds up her hands and takes a deep breath before she softens her voice. "Casey this is me talking as your best friend. I'm really worried about you and if there is anything that you need to tell me, please know that you can. You can always come to me Casey, because before all of this," she pauses, holding her hands out to the Casey and then the expansion of the house, but they both know that she means more than that, "before all of _this_ , I was your best friend and I am still your best friend. No matter where we go from here, that is something that is never _ever_ going to change."

Casey closes her eyes and takes several deep breaths before opening them and connecting with concerned brown ones. "There isn't anything going on Abs. I'm just tired. This kinda stuff usually happens right before a fight, ya know?"

Abbie doesn't believe a single word that is coming out of Casey's mouth but she decides to let it go for the time being. She knows that continuing to argue further would only provoke the two of them into a shouting match, and she doesn't exactly fancy being in a headlock again. Her mind is still reeling from the last time they got into a rather loud disagreement. Clearing her throat, she knows that it's time to change the subject.

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we have approximately three hours to make ourselves presentable before we need to be out of here. I know it's only forty-five minutes to LA, but you and I both know that this is California and forty-five minutes in our traffic can be up to two hours."

"What? Why? Where are we going?" Casey asks confusedly.

Abbie's eyes widen briefly before she groans. "Of course you forgot. I mean, I knew you would forget but there was a small inkling of hope that you didn't forget. I plan for everything and usually I plan for you forgetting but this time I didn't. Oh man. Okay. No worries. I can plan for anything. We'll just—"

"Abs?" Casey interrupts gently, her soft smirk growing when she sees that she has the other woman's attention. "I didn't forget."

"What?"

"I didn't forget. I'm at least somewhat competent remember?"

"You didn't forget." Abbie repeats aloud before she scowls. "You are such a little shit. Keep doing that to me and I'll demand a raise."

"And I'll just say no, like I always do." Casey smirks before turning around to open her fridge. "Now I don't know about you I'm starving and I'd rather not have my stomach eating itself."

* * *

Approximately three hours later, Casey finds herself standing in front of her closet, clad in only a sports bra and boxers. Her face is drawn up into a tight frown, one of deep concentration and thought. Finally, she sighs and once again does the one thing she always does in these situations.

"Abbie!"

A few seconds later, there is the sound of footsteps approaching her bedroom. They get closer and closer before they pause and are replaced by a heavy sigh. Casey glances over her shoulder and grins sheepishly. "I need your help."

"Of course you do." Abbie sighs once again. She finishes tucking her white button down into her slacks and tosses her jacket on the bed before making her way over to Casey. She all by shoves the redhead out of the way as she enters the closet. "Honestly, I really need to hire you a personal stylist."

"But what fun would that be? You know you have fun doing this." Casey supplies with a grin and a shrug. "Look, it's not that I can't do it. It's just every time you do, I end up in an article somewhere. I'm still sure that the one time I dress myself, I'm going to end up on ' _People's_ Most Atrocious Outfits' list or something."

"That's not even a list." Abbie mutters, exiting the closet with a suit and black button down on a hanger. She waits patiently as Casey changes, rolling her eyes for the hundredth time when she is offered tie. She glances between Casey's grin and the tie for a several seconds before she groans and snatches it away. "Yeah no, I definitely need a raise."

"You love me." Casey offers with a smile, grimacing when her air supply is suddenly cut off. "Ack, Abs that's…that's tight."

Smirking, Abbie loosens the tie an appropriate amount before she takes a step back to admire her handiwork. "I take it back, maybe I should just go into styling myself."

Admiring herself in the mirror, Casey scrunches her nose. "You couldn't have picked something that was a little less tight?"

"Nope. It shows off that cute butt of yours." Abbie quips, giving said butt a smack before grabbing her own suit jacket. "C'mon stud, the car is waiting."

* * *

"And just like I had predicted. We're late." Abbie sighs, glancing out the tinted window and scowling at the disgusting LA traffic. She drums her fingers on the steering wheel and it's taking everything in her not to break every traffic law ever put into place. Either that or turn around and curse out the old man who has been tailgating her for the past three lights.

"At least we actually made it out of Malibu." Casey chuckles, attempting to lighten the mood. In truth she has a love hate relationship with these kinds of events. She loves that the charity event is put in place for a great cause and she loves collaborating with her fellow athletes to make it happen. She just absolutely hates to publicity of it all. Why does everything need flashing lights and red carpets and all the ridiculous propaganda she could care less about. She winces when Abbie slams on the breaks to avoid hitting the idiotic driver that's been in front of them for what feels like forever. She swears that the veins in the brunette's neck are about to burst. "Well look Abbie we're only down the street, that's why traffic is this bad. Everyone wants to see what's going on. Besides, we don't need to be on time when these things just start. It's always good to arrive fashionably late."

"They should've closed this street." Abbie grumbles, swerving out of the stalled lane. She provides a not so polite gesture to the car that was the source of her headache as she all but runs the remaining traffic lights.

Arriving at their venue, she huffs and throws her car into park. "I've been living here I don't know how long and I'm still not used to Cali drivers." She rolls her eyes as she tosses her keys to the valet, but not before sending him a warning glare.

Casey smirks at this as they make their way towards the entrance. She buttons her suit jacket and puts on a smile for the cameras that she knows are watching, all the while talking out of the side of her mouth. "Anything important notes I need to know before we do this."

"If you see Ronda act like you hate her. If you see LeBron congratulate him on the consecutive championship win. And if you see anyone from the National Women's Soccer Team, try not to mention anything about Rio." Abbie rattles off effortlessly.

"So in other words, make nice." Casey grins as they enter the venue. The place is buzzing with beautifully dressed athletes and noise as everyone mixes and mingles. Casey's gazes scans the place for a brief moment before landing on just what she's looking for. An open bar.

"Alright so first we need to hand over the donation to the chairman of the charity. Might as well get it out of the way now. Did you bring the check?" Abbie asks, turning her head to see where Casey is standing. Or rather, where Casey was previously standing. "Case!"

Casey leans against the bar, taking a sip of her cranberry vodka as she allows her eyes to roam the crowd. So many familiar faces she recognizes, though she chooses to stay in her own little bubble. She's not particularly one who will just walk up and start conversation. She prefers to have people come to her.

"Well what do we have here."

Like now.

Turning around, Casey is met with the sharp gaze of a stunning brunette in a floor length black dress. The dress has a feint shimmer to it and Casey allows her eyes to unashamedly roam over the woman's curve.

"Casey Novak. What an honor." The woman says with a smile as she offers her hand.

"Well, the pleasure is all mine miss….? Forgive me but we haven't met before have we?" ' _God forbid, I hope I haven't slept with this woman.'_

"Lacroix. Erin Lacroix."

"Lacroix? Is that—"

"French. Yes, it is. On my mother's side." The shorter woman responds with a self-satisfied smirk. "I decided to keep her last name."

Casey simply nods in response. 'Why is she telling me this.' "Right well. What brings you over here? Aside from the fantastic choices of alcohol?"

Erin simply smiles in response as she tilts her head to the side. "I suppose I could ask you the same question. Your counterparts seem to be having a good time enjoying the h'dourves and each other. But you're over here all by yourself. Why is that."

Judging by the way that she keeps allowing her eyes to roam over the fighter's body, or the way that her tongue subtly darts out to wet her ruby red lips, Casey is about seventy percent sure that this woman is flirting with her, but she can't quite figure out why.

"I'm more of an observer. I like to watch. See what everyone's doing, maybe even what everyone's thinking. It's less exhausting that way too. You aren't tasked with remember what to say to who or who to say to what."

"An observer. I like that." Erin hums, as she takes a sip from the champagne flute that seems to have materialized out of thin air. "Tell me, what else do you like to _do_ in your free time."

"Have vague conversations with very beautiful women." Casey replies with a smirk. Now she's ninety-five percent sure this woman is flirting with her. And who is she to deny a beautiful woman's interest.

If Erin is thrown by the lack of subtlety from the response, she doesn't let it show. In fact, it fuels her confidence as she steps forward into the redhead's personal space. "You know, I hear you're this mysterious enigma both in and outside of The Octagon. That's how you keep your opponents guessing, am I right? They aren't sure what you're going to do next."

"That's the idea." Casey hums, just barely catching the subtle innuendo hidden in the laces of the comment. "It wouldn't be as entertaining if it wasn't…spontaneous."

"Spontaneity seems like it's something you're quite familiar with."

"I might be. Depends on the situation."

Licking her lips, Erin steps forward to where they are close enough whisper despite the loudness surrounding them. "I hear that you have some very interesting tattoos. I have a room in this hotel. On the fifth floor. Maybe we could go up and you could…show them to me?"

Casey raises her eyebrows. There are about a thousand alarm bells going off in her head but she ignores every single one of them. She quickly finishes her drink and glances around for Abbie before she grabs the woman's hand and leads her away from the crowded event. Nothing wrong with enjoying herself for a bit.

The ride to the fifth floor is agonizingly slow, and Casey has to restrain herself from taking the stunning brunette then and there. When the elevator dings, she finds herself all but dragged down the hall before they come to a pause at one of the rooms. She rests her hands on Erin's hips and buries her nose into dark hair as the woman shuffles through her clutch for the key.

"Mmm, you could've pulled that out when you were eye fucking me in the elevator." She hums, allowing her hands to travel a little lower.

"I wanted to make you wait for it." Erin quips, spinning around with the key in hand. She grins wildly as Casey takes the key from her and slides the card into the door before all but pushing her inside.

The room is immediately charged with lust as lips are connected while hands roam and tug at clothing. Casey wastes no time in unzipping the dress, biting her bottom lip when she is rewarded with a black lacy gift underneath. "Damn." She whispers, nearly completely oblivious to the nimble fingers working to loosen her tie and unbutton her shirt.

"I always come prepared." Erin smirks, before pushing the taller woman onto the bed. Her smirk widens as she slips out of her heels and slowly crawls up the bed to where she is straddling the redhead.

Casey allows her hands to roam up the woman's sides before she pulls her down into a deep kiss. She smirks into a kiss when she is rewarded with a satisfied moan in response to her actions. She gently tugs on ruby red lips with her teeth, before allowing her hands to roam up to the lacy bra clasp. As much as she enjoys the lingerie, she would much rather have it on the floor. Just as she is sure she has the damn thing lose, something sharp presses into her back causing her to hiss.

"What is this…" She mumbles into the kiss, blindingly reaching behind her back to find the offending object. Her fingers meet cold plastic and metal before she brings the objection around to see what it is despite the fact that Erin's lips are now working wonders on her neck.

Casey frowns at the object that she has now identified as a badge. Her mind slowly begins to rationalize the words 'People Magazine' 'Erin Lacroix' and 'Chief Sports Writer' that are all printed on the badge. "What the hell is this?"

Erin quickly pulls away at the sudden harshness of Casey's voice. Her eyes widen as she immediately recognizes the object in the woman's hand. "Oh my god."

"You're a fucking reporter?" Casey asks incredulously.

"Listen, it's not—"

"No! You're a reporter! It says right fucking here that you work for People Magazine!" Casey shouts, shoving the brunette off her lap. "Oh my god. That's why I'm here isn't it?"

"Casey…"

"Isn't it!"

Erin doesn't respond. Instead, she looks away and chews her bottom lip, guilt written on her face as clear as day.

With haste and urgency, Casey buttons her shirt and grabs her jacket and tie. She casts the silent brunette one last disgusted look before she scoffs and exits the room, slamming the door behind her. Practically running down the hallway, she is thankful that the elevator is just letting someone off so she doesn't have to wait for it.

Thanking a higher power that the lift is empty, Casey shrugs on her suit jacket and reties her tie. She tightly grips the bars of the elevator before resting her head against the cool metal of the wall. Too many emotions are swirling within her and right now she just wants a date with tequila and her punching bag.

"Fucking hell, Abbie is going to fucking murder me."

 **A/N: I don't know about you guys, but if I ever met Beyoncé I would forget more than just my name. Also, there may be a few more sports references here and there so watch out for those.**

 ***grins wickedly* Leave your thoughts?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This one's a little short filler because the last one was so long. I hope you all had a very happy holidays :)**

Stepping off the elevator, the smell of food immediately hits her in the face. Approaching the door to her apartment, she fumbles with her keys before finally successfully sliding them into the lock. Alex closes her eyes and hums as she allows herself to be consumed by the aroma of Italian cuisine.

"Honestly Masen, if you keep making my home smell like that, this is going to become a weekly requirement." Alex quips as she drops her purse on the dining table in the moderately sized kitchen.

The short haired blonde woman standing at the kitchen simply smirks at Alex over her shoulder. "I was under the impression that it already was a weekly requirement," she retorts, causing the writer to roll her eyes.

"You know, you can only get away with saying smartass comments because of that accent of yours," Alex retorts with a playful glare.

"I'm British. Everything I say sounds polite." Masen quips with a charming smile before turning back to the pots she was previously attending to. "Just like the time I told you that blue dress you bought was atrocious."

"…you told me it looked good…"

"Oops?"

Alex feels like she's being attacked in her own kitchen and she can't help the pout that overtakes her face. Hearing footsteps approaching, she decides to make her pout even more dramatic.

"Kimmy, your Brit is being mean to me," she whines as her roommate and other best friend enters the kitchen.

"I'm sure she has good reason," Kim responds as she all but ignores Alex and approaches the blonde at the stove. She steals a quick kiss before swatting her shoulder. "Behave. I don't want a repeat of the last time the two of you got into it. I was finding flour in the kitchen for weeks."

Alex giggles only to immediately silence when she sees the glare she's receive from her friend. "Listen, it wasn't my fault. London over there started it."

"I don't care who started it. What matters is that it happened." Kim rolls her eyes and folds her arms before leaning over the stove. "What're you making, Baby?"

"I believe you Americans call it Spaghetti with Meatballs?" Masen retorts, chuckling when she earns another swat from her girlfriend. "Someone's feeling feisty."

"Well I wouldn't be if you wouldn't sass me."

"You know you enjoy it, Love."

Alex makes a gagging noise when she spots the two making heart eyes at each other. "Honestly, could you two cool it with the cutest couple of the year stuff? I'm about to start getting cavities from all of this in here."

Kim simply throws a dish towel at her roommate's head. "Anyway, how was your first day of interviews? You came home in a good mood so I'm guessing it's safe to assume that nothing disastrous happened?"

Blushing at the memory of the brief moment she spent with Casey out on the back deck, Alex shyly shrugs her shoulders. "I mean, I think that everything went well. Well, aside from the fact that Serena managed to embarrass the both of us before we even walked into the house."

Groaning, Kim shakes her head as she is quite familiar with the mannerisms of the upbeat blonde that completes their little trio. As much as she loves Serena to death, Kim knows that she has a tendency to be a little…much.

"It wasn't as bad as it could've been. I mean, it could've been Liv or Manda, right? But Casey was really cool and polite about everything."

"Casey? Novak? The Phoenix?" Masen pipes up suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Not you too…" Alex rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"Hey! I'm just saying, no wonder your friend acted like that. Novak's pretty popular. Not bad to look at either." Masen winces when Kim smacks her for a third time.

Alex doesn't hide the small grin coating her lips as she watches her best friend and her girlfriend. Her smile falters a little when she feels the familiar pang of jealousy that she's used to feeling whenever she sees Kim with Masen or Serena with Olivia. It's not that she's interested in either one of her friend's partners, that's not it at all. It's more so the fact that Alex often feels left out.

It isn't that she isn't looking for a relationship, that's far from the truth. Relationships just don't seem to be looking for her. Even though she's busy with work more often than not, she does have some free time every now and again. She has been out on a handful of dates, but all of which resulted in said date not calling her every again or not even bothering to show up for the date at all. She's honestly lost count at how many times she's been stood up in the past.

"Anyway, Casey invited me to her next fight," Alex speaks up, anything to get her mind to shut up.

Kim raises her eyebrows in interest. "Just you?"

"Well me and my friends." Alex shrugs. "She thinks it will be good for the story. You guys can tag along if you want. We can make an evening of it or something. I'm sure that Liv probably hit the ceiling when Serena told her."

Kim shrugs. "I suppose it could be fun." The truth is, she doesn't really care much about seeing the fight per say, but she's curious about seeing the woman that Alex has somehow managed to slide into every conversation. Now she by far knows she isn't as nosey as Serena, but Kim won't deny that she will occasionally poke around until she finds the answers to her questions. Maybe this time though, she won't mention anything to Serena. "When is it?"

"Next Friday."

"Aw…" Masen deflates. "I'll be working…"

"My poor little five-star chef." Kim coos with a teasing smirk. "You can't take the night off?"

"Unfortunately not, Love. When people travel cross country for you specifically, the option to take a night is very…restricted." Immediately she flinches when Kim quirks an eyebrow. "Please don't smack me again. Dinner is ready and I'm sure the both of you would like to eat."

"Yes please." Alex replies, springing up to grab a plate. "I could eat a whole cow….okay maybe half a cow."

* * *

"I'll call you later." Kim hums, giving the taller woman a kiss before seeing her out. Immediately, she returns to the kitchen where Alex is washing up. "Okay spill."

"Spill what? What am I spilling?" Alex asks with genuine confusion.

"Since dinner started you've seemed a little off. These can wait." Kim huffs, as she pulls Alex from the sink and into the living room where she pulls her down onto the sofa. "Talk to me."

Alex shrugs, silently cursing Kim's eye for detail. It's one of the things that makes her a great photographer but also a great best friend. "I don't know…just a lot to think about from work I guess."

Quirking an eyebrow, Kim wonders if she should prod or not. Maybe not yet. "I mean, this is your first sports feature, not to mention your shot at a promotion. It's okay to be nervous and meticulous about it. You want everything to work out."

"Yeah…" Alex hums, shaking her head before her mind starts to wander again. "So…you and Masen seem to be getting pretty serious."

A rare blush crosses the brunette's face as she shrugs her shoulders. "It's lasted longer than I thought it would. I mean, I suppose it's not a normal thing for the head chef to personally wait your table for the evening."

"I kept trying to tell you she was into you." Alex giggles, recalling the night they, including Serena, treated themselves to a well-earned dinner.

"Yeah well, she keeps bringing up the idea of me moving in with her."

"Why do you keep telling her no?" Alex asks incredulously, even though the idea of her roommate out unsettles her, mainly because she would miss her greatly, but also, there's no way that she would be able to afford the rent on her own.

Kim cracks a small smile before it disappears. "I'm not leaving you like that. So you need to find another way to get rid of me." She chuckles before turning solemn. "I just want to take things slow. See where they're going before I take that plunge."

"Well I think you should consider it. She obviously loves you." Alex says sadly as her eyes downcast.

"You'll find yourself someone Al. don't sell yourself short. You're a great catch and any woman would be very lucky to have you."

"Sure doesn't seem that way." Alex sighs as she stands up. "Would you mind finishing the dishes? I'm very tired. I think I'm gonna call it a night."

Kim bites her lip as she watches her best friend disappear to her bedroom. She also sighs and lets her head drop against the back of the sofa. Oh yes, she definitely has a lot of poking around to do. It looks like she has plans for next Friday evening.

 **Leave your thoughts?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a happy new year. Enjoy!**

Even with being an up and coming writer, Alex can easily say the total number of sporting events she has been to in her life time she can probably count on one hand. Looking down at her simple outfit of a grey cardigan and jeans, she can't help but feel like she's a little overdressed.

"You look fine." Kim offers a knowing smirk at her best friend before casting a look of disgust towards the rowdy fans who nearly run them over. "A lot more than I can say for about ninety percent of the people here."

"Thanks. I've just…we'll I don't really come to things like this. I'm more of a…"

"Wine and dine and theatre type of girl." Serena injects with a teasing smirk of her own. "Seriously though, how much further? Those two have been asking 'are we there yet' for the past twelve hours. I swear I'm marrying a rendition of a toddler trapped in a grown woman's body."

Alex glances over to where Amanda and Liv are animatedly buzzing about the upcoming fight. She can't help the laugh that escapes her lips as the two women look like two giddy children about to receive the best Christmas present of their lives. She can only hope that they don't embarrass her too bad. Enough of that was done with Serena.

"Not far." Alex hums as she nods towards what she hopes is the ticket office. She visibly cringes at the long line and she wishes that Serena hadn't taken so long to get ready. Honestly, the woman is taken, engaged to be more exact, why could she possibly have taken so long just to go to a fighting match?

The group make small talk with one another (and on Liv and Amanda's part other fans), until they finally reach the front of the line. Alex awkwardly clears her throat, gathering the attention of the rather bored looking ticket attendant behind the glass.

"How many?" the man asks in a monotone voice, cleanly displaying that he's been asking the same question all night and he's pretty damned tired of it.

"Uh yeah, hi. Um, Casey Novak left tickets for me?" Immediately, Alex isn't proud of the way that she phrased that as the air around her goes still for a brief moment before people start whispering in hushed yet animated tones.

"Novak left her tickets?"

"Whoa, she knows The Phoenix?"

"Novak left tickets for me too!"

The attendant clearly doesn't look impressed as he rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you and the rest of the people in here who want to get in for free. Listen lady, either pay for a ticket or stop holding up the line. There are people here who can actually pay to see the show tonight."

Alex rolls her eyes and huffs irritably. So much for not causing a scene.

"No seriously. She left tickets for me. Alexandra Cabot." She explains as she pulls out her ID and slips it into the little slot beneath the glass. "She told me to bring my ID so jerks like you couldn't say I was making it up."

Glaring at the blonde, the attendant picks up her ID and exams it for a moment before his face falls. "I'm so sorry Miss Cabot. One moment." He explains, before disappearing from his chair. He soon returns with five badge, tickets, and blue wrist bands. "Here, these badges will get you in the back for after. No one should give you guys any trouble. Sorry again…"

"I bet you are." Serena huffs with a smug smirk earning her a swat from Alex and an eye roll from Kim. "So where are we gonna be sitting?"

"Ring side." Alex replies after reading her ticket.

"RING SIDE?!" Liv exclaims, successfully startling the other women. She immediately puts on her best pout and tugs on Serena's sleeve. "Babe? Can I get a t-shirt? Please, Babe? Please?"

Serena rolls her eyes again. "See what I mean? Toddler. C'mon Rollins, I'll get you one too. Maybe find where the concessions are while we're at it." She grumbles to herself, as the other two women exchange high fives and excited yells.

Alex giggles as she watches her friends walk off. "Well I suppose that it's up to the two of us to find where we're sitting." She states as she and Kim head off in the direction of the tunnel.

"Ring side seats huh? Those can't be easy to come by." Kim inquires.

"I mean, I think she gets a limited number of tickets for friends and family or something. I don't know. But she said she thinks it'll be good for the interview. For me to actually get an idea of what she does."

"For the interview?"

"Yes, for the interview."

Kim simply hums in response as they make their way through the current of fans. "You know, what with the display outside at the ticket office, people are probably gonna think you're her girlfriend or something?"

A blush immediately springs to Alex's cheeks as she comes to an abrupt halt, nearly causing someone to crash into her. Sending a murmuring apologize, she casts her best friend an incredulous glance. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying." The brunette responds with a shrug. "We both work for a magazine so you and I both know better than anyone how things can get with assumptions. I mean, I'm sure she doesn't give just _anyone_ ringside seats?"

"Yeah well, not just anyone is writing a feature story on her for a magazine." Alex responds with a shake of her head, praying to any deity that is listening that the inconvenient blush that plagues her often is gone. Curse her pale complexion. "C'mon, I think this is our tunnel."

Alex is immediately overwhelmed by the loud noise of the crowd and the bright lights of the arena. Thankfully it takes them little to no time to find their seats. Letting out a thankful sigh, she glances around and immediately freezes as she realizes she's surrounded by celebrities. "Kim are we-"

"We are." The brunette responds in a clipped matter as she continues to unblinkingly stare forward.

"Kim….Kim isn't that-"

"It is. Don't look at them. If we don't look at them they aren't there."

Alex can't help but let a slight giggle escape at her best friend's sad attempts to cover up her inner fangirl. Well, she's definitely got to say that Kim handles these kinds of situations loads better than Serena did. Best friend of the year award is most likely going to Kim.

Thinking back to the brunette's earlier words, however, she surely hopes that no one goes around spreading rumors. Sure Casey is a popular athlete and celebrity and she's more than likely used to rumors like this, but the last thing Alex would want would for herself to be the reason to some kind of scandalizing embarrassment that could upset the fighter.

She glances around the crowd, picking out easily recognizable faces from other athletes to singers to actors. Apparently, going to an MMA main event is typical for an A-Lister's Friday night plans. She eventually tears her eyes away from the crowd to keep from appearing like she's ogling.

Eventually after taking in the rest of the arena, her eyes land on the eight-sided cage that happens to be directly in front of her. Okay, maybe not _directly_ in front of her, but she's only about two rows back so it may as well be directly in front of her. She examines the cage, taking note of how large and dangerous it must be. She can't help but wince as she imagines someone smashing someone else's face into the grates. Do they do that here? Or is that wrestling? Nevertheless, she will never understand the appeal two humans fighting inside a cage like animals.

"Oh god." She hears Kim groan from beside her and she turns her head just in time to see their friendly trio returning.

"Well, at least they didn't paint their chests and their faces." Alex giggles taking note of the matching t-shirt her friends are wearing. No doubt the design on the shirt is definitely Casey's silhouette surrounded by flames and her signature insignia; the mythological phoenix.

"C'mon now, Lex, we at least have some class." Amanda states, proudly displaying her shirt.

"I do have to admit, it is a cool shirt." Alex returns with a smile. Looking around, she then takes note of the amount of Phoenix paraphernalia that they're surrounded by. All in all, she's actually sure that she and Kim look like outsiders. She's even pretty sure that one guy has a few of Casey's more memorable tattoos replicated on his body, but she's trying not to stare.

"What sucks is the fact that we have to sit through a few boring match ups before we actually see what we came to see." Olivia grumbles, taking a loud sip from her soda. "But Alex, it's so cool that you got these tickets and these seats no less! Geez, none of my subjects ever invited me to any of their events. Maybe I should've been a pretty blonde."

Once again, Alex feels her worse enemy making itself known on her cheeks. This time, she can't help but be thankful that it's dark enough for said cursed blush to be hidden. "Yeah well, Casey actually invited you guys herself. She said that you would've never let Serena it down if she had come without you."

"I know I'm going to be hearing it from Masen for the rest of eternity." Kim mutters.

* * *

"Well you'll be glad to know that People took care of that bitch from the fundraiser." Abbie grumbles as she hangs up her phone. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Casey responds, biting down on her mouth guard as she rolls her shoulders. She flexes her fingers beneath her gloves before she throws her hood over her head.

Abbie studies the redhead for a moment. A soft sigh escapes her lips and she squeezes her shoulder. "Alright, let's do this. Let's remind this chick why you're the one with that belt around your waist."

Nodding, Casey follows Abbie through the tunnel. She briefly closes her eyes and tries to get into the zone. With every step she takes she can hear the noise of the crowd getting louder. People are yelling, screaming, chanting her name. She swallows deeply and tries to calm her breathing. She can fear her heart pounding in her ears and hammering against her chest.

The more she focuses on her fight, the more she can't help but envision a certain blonde. She hasn't told anyone, granted the only person she would actually tell would be Abbie, but since the coffee shop she hasn't been able to get the writer out of her mind.

"Yo, Novak! I'm talking to you!"

"What?" Casey blinks rapidly, not realizing that they've come to the mouth of the tunnel. She looks up to find Abbie gazing at her with concern. "Yeah, I'm ready, I'm ready."

Shaking her head, Abbie sighs. "Let's hope so. I'd hate to see your ass get decked in an exhibition." She mutters, slapping the redhead on the shoulder, squinting against the lights and flashes as she exists the tunnel into the arena.

* * *

"Ho-ly shit she's right there!" Amanda squeaks, practically bouncing in her seat. "Oh my god where's my phone. Phone, camera, phone!"

"This is the last time we take them anywhere." Serena mutters.

"Says the woman who was ready to throw herself at Casey on her doorstep." Alex whispers back, grinning when she earns a swat in return. She can't help the rather amazed smile that graces her lips as she watches the redhead step into the cage. Sure she's seen videos and pictures of Casey's fights but none of those can come close to seeing her in action live.

She finds herself gazing at the beautiful tattoos and toned muscles of the fighter as she continues to nod and listen to Abbie talk in her ear. Alex almost thinks that she imagines it when Casey manages to spot her in the crowd and send her a small smile and a wink. Cue blushing. Looking away, Alex is thankful that they're in a big enough crowd for the exchange to go unnoticed.

Almost unnoticed. Alex doesn't factor in the fact that Kim is the best photographer at their magazine for her keen eye for detail. The brunette caught the exchange; everything from Alex's dreamy smile, to Casey's wink, back to Alex's reddening cheeks. _'What is going on here?'_

Once the fight actually starts, Alex is completely thrown by Casey's speed. She watches as the redhead dodges all of her opponent's strikes while landing several powerful blows of her own. She marvels how muscles flex under each movement, how crimson hair is pulled into a tame braid, how sweat is-no. She's here for professional matters. To gather information on her story. To get to know more about her subject.

It doesn't last long. Alex isn't an expert on these sort of things but she's fairly sure that they're supposed to last longer than fifty five seconds. It all happens so fast that Alex barely registers to roundhouse kick that sends Casey's opponent sprawled across the mat. She glances between a smug looking Abbie Carmichael and the referee of the fight who is checking on the downed fighter. Shaking his head, the ref immediately calls the match.

"Honestly, people pay so much to see her come kick a chick once in the head?" Kim quips, wincing at the loud eruptions or the crowd, or more so their friends beside her. "That can't be it."

"Oh that's definitely it." Serena winces, watching as the opposing fighter's trainers have to practically carry her out of The Octagon.

Shaking herself out of her trance, Alex stands and taps her friends. "C'mon, Casey said we can meet her backstage."

"Meet her?!" Liv and Amanda exclaim simultaneously, their earlier excitement fading fast.

"Please don't embarrass me." Alex pleads, sighing as they show their badges to the security guards who nod their approval. Honestly, she has no idea where she's going or what she's going to say and she suddenly finds herself wishing that she _had_ come by herself.

Walking down a long hallway she hears a familiar voice coming from one of the rooms and she can't help but chuckle at the southern coated excitement.

"Well shit Case, I at least thought you'd give her a minute."

"Wanted to finish up in time for drinks." Casey shrugs, folding her arms with a satisfied smirk. "You wanted me to remind her why im the Champ. I was simply following your orders boss."

Rolling her eyes when it comes to Casey has become a second neighbor to Abbie. "What am I gonna do with you." She mumbles before clapping her hands. "So where are we celebrating yet another stellar win?"

Casey opens her mouth to respond before is interrupted by a quick knock. Turning her head towards the door, her eyes light up and a large smile graces her lips. "Hey!"

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Alex smiles sheepishly as she steps into the room. "I um…I brought people…"

"Cool seeing you again Serena." Casey nods towards the photographer before extending her hand towards the stranger. "We haven't met though. I'm Casey."

The brunette stares at the wrapped hand for a brief moment before returning the handshake with a tiny smile. "Kim. And this is…" she trails off realizing that the spot beside her is vacant.

"Oh god…They're going to embarrass me." Alex groans to herself as she watches Serena huff and step outside of the room. She can hear harsh whispers outside and she can only catch the words 'you wanted to meet her', 'Serena no!', 'stop being babies', and a hard swat followed by an 'ow!'.

Casey exchanges an amused look with Abbie, and she places her hands on her hips, her smirk widening when she sees Serena practically shoving two other women into the room. Her amusement grows as she watches the two look between each other and her before trying to scramble out of the room that is being blocked by Kim and Serena. She chuckles and shakes her head. "Hey."

"Hi…" Liv mumbles when she sees Amanda has gone into shock. She awkwardly clears her throat and rubs at the back of her neck. "You uh, you fight good."

"Thanks. Nice shirts. Heard that chick is pretty good." Casey responds with a smirk. She laughs when the two women immediately cross their arms and look away with bashful expressions. "Thank you guys for coming. It really means a lot."

"Thank you for inviting us. We really enjoyed it." Alex says with a smile before clearing her throat. "And I mean-it's good that I got to see what you do. You know…for the story. Even if it was a little short."

"Yeah well, like I told Abbie, leaves more time for celebrating. Hey, why don't you guys come out with us tonight? You know, for drinks and such?"

"What?" Abbie and Alex exclaim simultaneously.

Casey ignores the look that she's getting from Abbie and continues. "C'mon, it'll be fun. We were gonna head over to Onyx."

"Onyx? The extremely exclusive nightclub you can only get into with a name?" Kim inquires with an even more inquisitive quirk of an eyebrow.

"Lucky for you I have a name." Casey responds with a shrug. There's something about this woman that she can't quite put her finger on. It's almost as if she's testing her. "C'mon, Abbie will give you guys all the details."

"I will?"

"You will. Now if you guys don't mind, I kind wanna talk to Alex about something. If that's cool with you guys."

"Yeah…yeah that's fine." Alex responds, rolling her eyes when her friends don't move. "I said it's fine."

There is a great deal of mumbling as the others exit, and Alex is too busy trying to hide her blush to notice to look exchanged between Abbie and Kim.

"So…you looked really great out there. I've never seen a person move like that." She starts, flinching when she feels like she worded that poorly. She's a writer damn it, one would think that she would be better with words than this. "Still though, getting hit like that has gotta hurt."

"That's what training's for. You learn how to absorb the hit so it doesn't really hurt as much." Casey responds with a shrug. "Maybe you'll come to more in the future? I mean, as long as you promise to hang out after."

Chuckling, Alex shakes her head. "I'm not really much of a nightclub person." She explains, finally succumbing to the battle she's been fighting to not let her eyes roam over Casey's body _. 'Even in just track pants and a sports bra she's sexy as hell. Wait what?!'_

Catching Alex's gaze, Casey winces. "Sorry I'm still kinda sweaty and gross. You guys caught me before I could hop in the shower."

"No, no, it's totally okay. I'm the one who intruded I was just…well I was just looking at your tattoos." Alex shrugs. "I remember a friend of mine telling me how for most people ever tattoo usually tells a story. You have a lot of tattoos so I was just wondering if there were a lot of stories."

Casey is silent for such a long time that Alex is actually worried that she has some how offended the athlete. She quickly wracks her brain as she tries to come up with a way to apologize for putting her foot in her mouth. Before she can, however, the redhead speaks.

"I'll tell you what. You let me buy you a drink tonight and I'll tell you a story. Deal?"

"Oh no I couldn't. I mean, you're not inclined to tell me anything I was just."

"Relax Alex, it's just drinks. What do you say?"

Biting her lip, Alex tries her hardest not to get lost in the emerald gaze boring into her. Swallowing thickly, she sucks in a deep breath as she nods her head. Yet another battle lost because of this woman.

"One drink can't hurt."

 **Hm….seems like Alex's best friend and Casey's best friend seem a little suspicious. And a flustered Alex gives me so much life. Hint for next chapter...there _might maybe_ be dancing ;) Leave your thoughts? **


	7. Chapter 7

Clubbing is most definitely not Alex's thing. She can easily begin to feel overwhelmed by the loud bass thumping through the atmosphere and the sea of gyrating, sweaty bodies. Apparently, she's the only one that isn't used to this as she quickly loses her friends to the clutches of Californian nightlife.

"Thanks guys…" she sighs quietly, groaning when another passerby bumps into her. Maybe, perhaps, this wasn't such a great idea.

"Come on, you don't need them to have fun, do you?"

Looking up, Alex is thoroughly surprised to find that she isn't completely alone. She is thankful for the darkness of the club as she feels herself flush immediately from Casey's smirk and piercing gaze.

Chuckling at the blonde's shyness, Casey gently grabs her elbow and guides her towards the bar. She's become pretty good at ignoring the exciting stares and whispers she receives whenever she comes out, and one would think that as many nightclubs as she's frequented, people would be used to it by now. But alas, it's California, and these places are probably chock full of tourists anyway.

"Hey Clair!" she shouts, managing to flag down a familiar bartender. "Grab me my usual, will you? And whatever the beautiful lady here wants."

Once again, Alex finds herself succumbing to her incredulous blushing as she begins to protest. "No, really you don't have to…" she trails off when she feels a warm hand grasp her own.

"Alex…I invited you and you promised you'd let me buy you a drink." Casey says gently, having to lean in close in order to be heard over the loud music.

"I don't want to be a problem..."

"It's not a problem if I offered. Really."

Biting her lip, Alex manages to murmur out the words 'Vodka Cranberry please' to the bartender, not missing how Casey's smile manages to light up the whole room. She also didn't miss the 'beautiful lady' comment from earlier, and oh how she wishes that Kim was around. Where was she anyway? She could probably guess where Liv and Rena had scuttled off too, and Amanda is somewhere drinking some poor soul who asked for her number under a table, but Alex suddenly longs for the company and salvation of her blunt best friend, lest she make a complete fool of herself.

"I've gotta say, I did expect something a little more tropical from you."

Alex blinks rapidly before taking the offered drink. "I…yeah, ,well…you know." She stammers, sighing quietly as all of her elegance and poise flies out the window. She isn't going to deny that she finds Casey incredibly attractive in more ways than one, and she's positive that's contributing to her acting like a plum fool. Nevertheless, she takes a sip of her drink, eyes widening as soon as it hits her lips. "Oh my god, that is fantastic."

"Yeah, Clair's one of the best." Casey chuckles as she guides them to an empty table near a corner of the club. She takes a swig from her glass and leans against the table. "So I believe I owe you a story? But first you gotta tell me if you actually enjoyed the fight and you weren't just saying that so you wouldn't hurt my feelings."

"No! I mean, yes…" Alex pauses as she takes a deep breath. "Sorry I'm being like this. Clubs aren't really by thing."

"What? Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like you were obligated to come out when you really didn't want to. We can totally go, or…you can if you don't want to be with me. Wait, not that you're with me, I mean you are with me, but…"

"Casey, it's alright. I wanted to come." Alex offers with a small smile, slightly amused that she isn't the only whose nervous right now. But what does that mean? "And to answer your question, yes, I really did enjoy your fight. Even if I didn't really understand a lot about it. Not to mention, it's gotta hurt…a lot."

Casey shrugs as she takes another sip of her drink. "It did for a while, when I first started I didn't know what I was getting into. But you learn to absorb hits, and with the adrenaline going, I usually don't feel anything until the next day anyway."

"So how about that story?" Alex asks awkwardly after a brief silence in which she realizes she was staring.

"Right of course! Which do you want to know about?"

"Well we could start with the obvious. The exotic bird that's your namesake."

A solemn look crosses over Casey's face as she bites her lip and ducks her head. "Actually, how about we work our way up to that one? Not that I don't want to tell you, because really I do, but a crowded club with prying ears really isn't the place I wanna share that story."

Alex's eyes widen briefly as she sincerely hopes that she hasn't offended the redhead. "Right! Of course, you don't have to share anything you don't want to. Um, how about you pick one and we can go from there? I'm afraid I don't have all of your tattoos memorized like my idiot friends do."

"I hope you're joking…"

"I wish I was."

A bark of laughter escapes Casey's lips as she shrugs off her leather jacket. And just when she thought she had heard everything about her fans. Maybe she should start listening to Abby after all.

"Unfortunately I can't show you any of the really fun ones. The bartenders get kinda annoyed when I take my shirt off. They say it's bad for business."

"I can't imagine how that could possibly be bad for business." Alex chuckles, cheeks flushing as she thinks back to the athlete's stellar body.

"Apparently people are too busy staring at me to buy drinks." Casey responds with a shrug. She steps closer to Alex and holds out her forearm displaying the detailed ink.

Instinctively, Alex reaches out and runs her fingers over the detailed vines and roses that immediately draw her attention. She sees the name "Eveline" etched into one of the petals of a rose. "This one," she whispers, completely mesmerized by the art.

"This is one of my firsts." Casey begins, skin burning underneath Alex's gentle touch. "I was raised by my Grandma, Eveline. We planted more flowers than I can even remember, but the roses were always my friend and she knew that. She used to call me her 'Little Rose'. Nicknames have always just kinda stuck with me I guess. Anyway, I got this immediately after she passed away. I guess for me, it's sort of a way for me to always carry her with me. I still feel her presence, especially if I've made a stupid decision I know she wouldn't approve of."

"Like being a literal punching bag for a living?" Alex jokes softly.

"Yeah, like that…" Casey responds with a small smile. She doesn't know what it is, but there's just something about the writer that just makes Casey want to open up completely. Honestly, she would love to have the opportunity to get to know Alex on a much deeper level, but she fears that she would come off as unprofessional, especially if the blonde isn't at all attracted to her. But maybe there isn't any harm in trying. "Would you like to dance? With me?"

Alex's eyes widen for the second time that night as she takes several glances between the redhead and the dancefloor. "I um…I dunno, I've never really…danced like this before."

"All the more reason to try it. C'mon, I'm sure you've got moves in you somewhere." Casey grins with faux confidence as she takes the blonde's hand. "Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't mind showing up your friends out there."

Glancing over to the dancefloor once more, Alex spots Serena and Liv dancing less than innocently against one another. Rolling her eyes at the challenge, she quickly finishes her drinks and allows herself to be pulled through the sea of people.

"Just kind of feel the beat, and move with it." Casey has to shout over the music as she tentatively rests her hands on Alex's waist and falls into sync with the beat.

Alex is sure for a good while she looks like an awkward giraffe but after a while she becomes a little more comfortable, finding herself resting her arms on Casey's shoulders. If she weren't so nervous perhaps she would have noticed the desire pooling in the fighter's eyes as with each new song, they manage to draw closer and closer together. That being said, Alex suddenly can't shake the feeling that she's being watched.

* * *

"What is happening…" Kim mutters, staring at her best friend from across the club. "What are they doing…"

"I'll say." A southern accented voice pipes up from beside her. "This is the longest I've seen Casey last in here without taking a girl open."

Kim scowls and shoots the other woman a glare. Sure she had been teasing Alex earlier on the subject, but she didn't actually think she was attracted to Casey at all. That sends up a handful of red flags in her mind; especially since she hears the athlete likes to keep a lot of company.

Catching Kim's glare, Abbie shrugs and takes a swig of her beer. "Hey, listen, I didn't mean anything by that. Alex is great. I'm sure she doesn't put out for just anybody. Besides, I don't think Casey's expecting that from her anyway. Jeez, I've never heard her talk about another woman so much, it's weird."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean when they're not there working on that piece for your guys' magazine, Casey doesn't stop mentioning the 'pretty blonde that wants to write about her'. I'm not used to her talking so much."

Kim's scowl deepens as she watches her friend open herself up to this woman she's known for less than a month. It's not that she has anything against Casey, she doesn't…yet. It's just that she doesn't want Alex getting hurt. She's seen how women have treated her friend in the past and she would like for any repeats of that to be avoided. Nevertheless, all she can do is sit back and watch and pray that Alex doesn't get herself into trouble.

 **So sorry this was late. Having a baby kind of sends things into a chaotic mess and allows for very little free time. Not really proud of this chapter but eh, I guess I'm furthering the story. Leave your thoughts?**


End file.
